EXCLUSIVE: Nigeria’s police officers raise alarm over corruption, indiscriminate transfers, unrealistic working conditions under new police leadership

Some officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) are shouting their lungs out over some perceived unfavourable policies under the leadership of the new Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olukayode Adeolu Egbetokun.

Some of the officers interviewed by Diaspora Digital Media (DDM), but spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid victimisation, raised some serious concerns including indiscriminate transfers, unrealistic demands, unpaid allowances, fraudulent contributing pensions, and even corruption among the police hierarchy.

Corruption among senior police officers in Nigeria is a widespread and serious problem that affects the performance and reputation of the police force.

It is adjudged a serious problem that undermines the rule of law and public safety in the country.

According to various sources, many police officers in Nigeria, including those at the top echelon of the apparatus, are involved in bribery, extortion, embezzlement, and other abuses.

This has led to a loss of trust and confidence in the police force among the citizens and rank and file as well, leading to a decline in Nigeria’s ranking on the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.

However, further investigation revealed that some of the factors that contribute to police corruption in Nigeria include poor funding, low salaries, lack of accountability, weak oversight, and political interference.

To address this issue, some of the possible solutions include increasing budgetary transparency, investigating and prosecuting corrupt officers, improving training and welfare, strengthening internal and external mechanisms of control, and promoting public awareness and participation.

An anonymous officer, while lamenting on the aftermath of indiscriminate transfers, told DDM:

“There is problem in the force. There is mass transfer in the police force without transfer allowances in this hard time that everyone is struggling to feed himself or herself in the country.

“When this IGP came, we thought it will be of help to the force. We never knew that it is going to be the worst we ever experienced in our time!”

Speaking on the same transfer, another officer anonymously lamented:

“Transfer without allowance and accommodations and taking us away from our families to far north… We want to let the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Senate and the House of Representative to be aware of what is going on in Nigeria.

“If this transfer continues most of us are going to resign from the force. It is better to remain with my family than to go far North to suffer.

“Where are we going to start from? Must we be taken to far north? We are begging the federal government to intervene, and we want to beg senators to come to our aid before people start tendering resignation letters.

“President Bola Tinubu should please intervene before things get worse. As for me, I am not going to the North to suffer without modalities.

“Out of the three months palliative, one month was paid this January to few people and not everybody in the force.

“We will take to the street if the federal government refuses to do something about the transfer and exit from contributing pension by middle of February.

Yet another officer cried over unpaid allowances during the Bayelsa State governorship election held on November 11, 2023.

He said: “During the last governorship election in Bayelsa half of the people who were posted in that election have not been paid till today and we don’t have anywhere to go and who to explain to.

“The IGP, in November, told us he will not allow us to leave the contributing pension and he asked us where we think we are going.

“In January, he repeated the same thing, and now he is coming up with mass transfer. We don’t know if we have offended him before he was appointed as the IGP.

“Transfer if not a bad thing in every other organization but in the police force the authority see transfer as punishment to the Inspectors rank and file.”

The Nigeria Police Force is the main law enforcement and security agency in Nigeria. It has exclusive jurisdiction throughout the country and a staff strength of about 371,800.

It is headed by the Inspector General of Police, who is currently Olukayode Adeolu Egbetokun.

The Nigeria Police Force has various units and departments, such as the Port Authority Police, the Police Academy, the Marine Police, and the Counter Terrorism Squad.

The Nigeria Police Force also participates in peacekeeping operations and provides security tips to the public.

The role of police in Nigeria is to ensure the preservation of public order and law enforcement, as well as the prevention and detection of crime.

The police also have the responsibility of supporting prison, immigration, and customs services, as well as performing military duties within or outside Nigeria as directed.

Some of the specific functions and duties of the Nigeria Police Force include conducting prosecutions, maintaining law and order, making arrests, conducting searches, granting bail and taking fingerprints.

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